The Lord of the Rings Lovers
by RoseTheShrubber
Summary: a group of LOTR obsessives decide to meet-up, but something happens to them and they find them selves mysteriously in Middle Earth, FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1: The Meetup

The Lord of the Rings Lovers

**Prologue: The Meet-up**

    "So… next week it is then!" Rose typed, "At half 1, yeah?" The mouse moved over to the 'Post reply' button. She clicked it and waited as her message was uploaded onto the post.

     Above hers were several messages posted by the other members of the 'Lord of the Rings Lovers.' They were organising a meet-up in London to go to the Premier of The Two Towers. Clara had recently won tickets in a competition and suggested they should all share the tickets and go together.

     And so the week passed, rather more slowly than everyone would have liked but finally the day of the meet-up arrived. Friday.

    _Beep, beep, beep, bee- _Rose's hand rested over the 'stop' button on her alarm clock. The beeping stopped. She looked up from her pillow blearily and peered at the time. The clock read, '5:30.' Rose crawled out of bed and pulled on some clothes she'd lain aside the night before, ready for the meet-up.

     By 7:30 she, along with her mum, was ready to set off. They got into the car and set off.

     3 hours in the car and a train journey later, they finally arrived in London. It was raining.

    'Oh great,' thought Rose as they got off the train, 'the best day of my life and it has to go and rain!' But that wasn't going to spoil her mood. Nothing could today, she was seeing the premier and finally meeting the actors who's pictures she and her fellow Lord of the Rings Lovers had been drooling over for months on the board. Just the very idea of actually meeting them gave her butterflies.

     As Rose approached the meeting place (her mum had gone off shopping somewhere and had arranged to meet her after the premier) she spotted a group of girls, huddled under a blue umbrella.

    'That's them,' she thought. She looked closer and noticed one of them was holding a sign up. The ink had run slightly due to the rain but it was still quite readable. It said, 'LOTR Lovers.'

    'Yep, definitely them.' She smiled and ran over to them, "Hi!" She said, "It's me, Rose"

     Everyone introduced them selves, "Clara…Dezzy…Lou…Amber…"

    "Where's Kym?" Asked Rose, "isn't she here yet?"

    "No," said Lou, "wait… that must be her now," she added, pointing to a small figure running towards them.

    "You must be Kym."

    "Yep, that's me!" Said Kym, slightly out of breath from running, "sorry I'm a bit late. My train got delayed."

     After many more introductions and "how do you do's," the group headed off to catch a train that would take them to the cinema, and the premier. An hour and a half later, they had arrived, and were buzzing with excitement. As they approached the entrance, Clara got out the tickets and showed them to the security guard standing at the door. After checking their tickets, the security guard gave them all a warm smile and let them all through. Once inside, free from the noise of screaming fans outside (who, they noticed with satisfaction, did _not_ have tickets) the group halted and stared, open-mouthed. Everybody they could see was a celebrity of some sort.

    "I wonder where our lil' hobbits are," said Lou, beaming and scanning the crowd curiously. Suddenly, they all heard a gasp and turned to face Amber, who had made the noise. She had a look of utter bewilderment on her face and was pointing, with an extremely shaky hand, over to their left. They followed her gaze and understood why she had gasped. Walking towards them was none other than Elijah, Sean, Billy and Dom!

     And so they all met their little hobbit-boys and, as luck would have it, ended up sitting next to them during the film! Of course, afterwards they were positively flooding with tears and extremely shaky, so when they met the rest of the cast, they almost burst into tears immediately. This wasn't too bad though, as they all got lots of hobbity hugs. Later on, when all the excitement and tears had died down, they were all offered a lift back to their meeting place with the cast, and if that wasn't enough, they were to go in a Limousine!

     As the last of them scrambled into the back of the Limousine and shut the door the Limousine sped off down the streets of London, carrying Rose, Lou, Kym, Clara, Amber and Dezzy. Not to mention Elijah, Sean, Billy, Dom, Orli and Viggo!  The journey was long, but not without excitement. The LOTRL's laughed and joked with the cast and talked of many things, all, of course, LOTR related, until the group began to get weary and rather tired.

     Just then, the Limousine jolted and knocked them all off their seats. It then swerved and there was a terrible screeching sound coming from the tyres. The group desperately tried to hold on for dear life but it was simply no good. The Limousine smashed headlong into a wall and with a terrible crunching sound they were all flung to the floor and were knocked unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2: Unfamiliar surroundings

The Lord of the Rings Lovers

Chapter One: Unfamiliar Surroundings 

     Rose opened her eyes slowly and blinked as fresh sunlight washed over her face. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around. To her amazement and surprise she found she was in a bed! This was, in turn, in a very small room, or at least, it seemed as if it _should_ be small. The room was very homely and quite old fashioned. In fact, Rose noticed, there seemed to be nothing modern about it at all! There were candles instead of lamps, wooden shutters on the windows (which were open at this particular moment). Rose carefully climbed out of the bed, reluctantly as it was extremely comfortable and cosy. She walked over to the mirror, and gasped. Staring back at her was not the familiar green-eyed, dark red-haired face she saw every morning, but a face with long fair curly hair, blue eyes and rosy cheeks. She started at her reflection open-mouthed then jumped as she heard a noise outside the window. It sounded like metal banging together softly. She peered out of the window cautiously, as not to be seen, and had to clamp her hand over her mouth to refrain herself from screaming. There was someone there, in the garden, gardening, but not just anyone.

    'It can't be,' she thought to herself, 'not, not _Sam_. Not _the_ Samwise Gamgee outside here, gardening! I must be dreaming. That's it, I'm dreaming, and soon I'm going to wake up and I'll be at home and none of this will have ever happened.' She smiled, as if to reassure her self, then a thought emerged at the back of her mind.

    'But what if it is real. What if something happened when the limousine crashed and we all got sent…_here_. To Middle Earth, to The Shire!'

    'Don't be stupid,' said the more sensible side of her conscience, 'It's just a dream!'

    "No," she said aloud, "I know this is real." Another thought struck her, 'I wonder where the others are, and how am I going to find them if they're all different people! Ok, think about this,' she told herself, taking a deep, calming breath, 'if I took the place of Rose Cotton (supposedly that's who she was) then the others must be someone who is related in some way to the characters they like! Of course, it's so simple!' She hurried over to the wardrobe and opened it. It was full of dresses all with some frilly undergarment that went with them. Rose groaned. She'd never been one for dresses and _especially_ frills.

    "I suppose they're not _too_ bad," she muttered, "after all, I don't really have much choice." She picked out a blue one, if she had to wear a dress, it might as well be the right colour. The dress had a corset-type top with frilly sleeves and a plain blue floor-length skirt along with a, yet again frilly, underskirt. She looked at it doubtfully. It didn't look very big. To her surprise, it was a perfect fit, but then again, she was a hobbit now, not a human. The idea would take some getting used to. Once she was dressed, Rose cautiously opened the small hobbit-bedroom door and peered outside. To her left was a tunnel going on, it seemed, forever with many more turning along the way. To her right was a much shorter tunnel leading to a very cosy-looking room. She decided to go this way. At length, her face appeared round the side of the door and looked about the room she had seen at the end of the tunnel.

    'This is stupid,' she thought, 'I shouldn't be creeping about the place as if I were a burglar, I live here!'

     After a pause, she straightened up and walked into the room. There were two huge comfy-looking chairs set by the fireplace, which was currently occupied by a few burning embers, crackling gently. On the opposite side of the room there was another doorway leading to the kitchen. Rose suddenly remembered she hadn't eaten for hours and began to feel rather empty. Just then, there was the sound of a door opening and someone entering the house-No, hobbit hole, she corrected her self. It was Sam. He came in through the doorway to the kitchen, which must have led outside, looking very hot and exhausted and covered in soil from the garden.

    "Hello Rose." He said, coming over to her and kissing her on the cheek. Rose was speechless for a moment and then found her voice,

    "Hello Sam." She said, rather faintly.

    "Is something wrong?" Asked Sam, seeing her faraway expression.

    "Oh, no I'm fine!" She said, coming back to her senses. She was more than fine, in fact. She was in Middle Earth, in The Shire, with Sam who had just kissed her! This was her dream come true!

    "But…" Rose continued, after part of her brain reminded her she shouldn't be here.

    "What's wrong?" Sam looked concerned.

    "Well, it's rather hard to explain and quite unbelievable."

    "Go on," said Sam, growing ever more confused and intrigued. 

    "I… I shouldn't exactly be here."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I'm not who you think I am. I don't belong here. I'm not from this world." Rose knew this sounded extremely ridiculous but it was the truth. As much as she wanted to stay here, in Middle Earth, it wasn't her home. 

     She continued to explain what had happened since the morning of the meet-up and the film premier and everything up until this very moment. All the while Sam was silent and listened.

    "…So you see, I have to find everybody until I can go back home." Rose finished finally, then added, "I know it's hard to believe but I really am telling the truth."

Sam stared at her with a blank expression.

    "I knew you wouldn't believe me," said Rose, after a long silence.

    "No…I do." Rose looked up at Sam, "I do believe you."

    "Y-you do?" Said Rose.

     Sam smiled, "yes."

    'Mithrandir…" Rose thought to her self, "he believes me!'

    "But why?" She asked. Sam smiled again and rolled up his sleeve revealing a tattoo on his wrist. It was the number 9 written in Elvish.

****


	3. Chapter 3: The search begins

The Lord of the Rings Lovers

Chapter 2: The Search Begins 

****

     She stared at the tattoo, speechless. At length, she managed to say, "S-se…a…n?" Sam, or Sean, nodded. She sighed with relief and flung her arms round Sam and they hugged.

    "So you'll come with me to find the others?" Asked Rose.

    "Of course I will." Said Sam, "I need to get back home too."

So Sam and Rose went to pack. They packed all the food there was and all their clothes, (Rose did this rather reluctantly, as all her clothes were frilly dresses). It was going to be a long journey ahead of them.

     Once they had packed everything Sam and Rose set off, first to Bag End, where they would hopefully find Frodo and Clara. They did not have far to go before they came to the door of Bag End. It was lucky Sam knew the way, or Rose would have been helplessly lost. There were so many roads leading off the main path and many more leading off them. Sam knocked on the circular, green, hobbit-hole door. There was the sound of hobbit feet on a polished floor, followed by the rattling of the doorknob. The round door opened to reveal a hobbit with dark curly hair and big blue eyes. It was Frodo.

    "Hello Sam, Rose," he said. Then he noticed they had backpacks with them, "Where are you going? Has something happened?"

    "You don't need to pretend, Lij," said Sam.

Frodo was taken aback, "how…?"

    "It's us, Sean and Rose."

Frodo relaxed, "Oh, I see. You'd better come in then." They entered the hobbit-hole and set their packs down by the coat stand. Frodo told them to wait in the living room, while he went to fetch Clara. Sam and Rose sat them selves down in big comfy chairs and waited for Frodo to return. A moment later, Frodo was back, accompanied by a hobbit-girl with dark spikey hair and eyes almost as blue as Frodo's.

    "Clara!" Rose cried, jumping from her seat.

    "Am I glad to see you!" said Clara, running over and hugging them. They all sat down and discussed the events that had happened and wondered how on Middle Earth they came to be here. Nobody had any answers.

    "We could always go and see Gandalf," suggested Sam.

    "He wouldn't believe us," said Clara, "Ian wasn't in the crash, so he won't know what we're talking about." The others realised this and groaned.

    "What are we going to do?" moaned Rose, "we've got no way of getting back home or anything!" She was starting to panic.

    "Don't worry," said Sam, "I'm sure we'll find a way. But first we need to find everyone else."

    "You're right," said Rose, "Come on, we'll help you two pack," she added to Clara and Frodo. The four hobbits went off to pack everything. Half an hour later they were done and headed out the door to continue their journey. This time they were heading for Buckland. This journey took quite a bit longer than the road to Bag End previously, but was just as uneventful. At length, they arrived in Buckland and continued onto Merry and Pippin's homes. Once they had met up with Merry and Elenya (Kym), and Pippin and Diamond (Dezzy) they decided to go on to Mirkwood to find Leoglas and Lou. 

     After a good night's sleep at Pippin's they set off again, refreshed and full of food.

They travelled for two days before they saw any sign of the forest of Mirkwood. Rose had misplaced the map and none of them had been to Mirkwood before and were beginning to worry that they were hopelessly lost. Just then, as they walked over a grassy hill, they saw in the distance a great endless forest.

    "That must be Mirkwood!" said Elenya, sighing with relief that they weren't lost after all. Before they went any further they decided to stop for food (again). After they'd eaten Sam packed up his cooking pots and they set off again towards Mirkwood.****


	4. Chapter 4:The search continues

The Lord of the Rings Lovers Chapter 3: The Search Continues 

     The hobbits crept silently toward the forest. From here it seemed endless. Once they reached it, Diamond hesitated.

    "Are you sure we should go in there?" She said uncertainly, "It look's awfully dark. Anything could happen."

    "We don't have much choice if we want to find Lou and get back home," said Elenya.

     So they proceeded into the forest of Mirkwood, Diamond following reluctantly. They walked for some time, trying to keep to the path as best they could but it was extremely difficult and they could hardly see three feet in front of them for the darkness that swamped the forest. After an hour or so, the hobbits decided to stop and have something to eat. Hobbits don't like going long without food. A while later they were off again all desperately trying to keep to the path. For two hours they continued like this.

     Everything was silent. Not even the rustle of leaves in the breeze could be heard. It was too quiet. The hobbits stayed close together hardly daring to make a sound. After an hour of creeping in the dark, they decided to stop. It was now so dark that when they waved their hands in front of their faces, the saw only darkness. It was too dangerous to carry on, they might get separated or lose the path and _then_ they'd be in trouble.

     They huddled together. Rose and Sam under one blanket. Clara and Frodo under another. Diamond and Pippin together. And lastly Elenya and Merry. When they finally drifted into sleep the darkness was beginning to grow and close in on them even more. After many uncomfortable dreams, Rose found herself being shaken awake.

    "Rose! Rose, wake up! Quick!"

She opened her eyes, but this hardly made any difference as it was just as dark, if not darker than with her eyes closed, but she recognised the voice.

    "Sam?" She said quietly, "What's wrong?"

    "Shh! They might hear us!"

    "Who might hear us?" Whispered Rose.

    "Them! Over there," Sam pointed into the darkness.

    "I can't see anything." Rose then realised she had her eyes closed again and opened them. She could see where Sam was pointing. There were strange lights moving around. The lights were fire torches, but they were too far off to see who were carrying them.

    "What are they?" Asked Rose, "and where are the others?"

    "Oh, they're still asleep. I woke up just in time to see them pass by us in the trees. They're Pixies. Tree Pixies. They hate all other living creatures and fear no-one save the Elves. That's why we must keep out of sight and only talk in whispers."

    "Then we've got to get to the House of Mirkwood as soon as possible. We'll be safe there."

    "Not yet, it's too dangerous. We'll wait here until it gets lighter. They hate light."

    "What's going on?" 

Sam and Rose both jumped. Diamond was awake.

    "Shh!" they said together, a little too loudly. Suddenly, they found them selves surrounded by Pixies. They didn't have torched and had probably been hiding in the trees watching them, and listening to their whispered conversation. Now the other hobbits were awake and very confused. More Pixies approached, this time with torches.

Rose could see them now. They didn't look at all like she'd imagined Pixies to look like. She imagined them to be elegant and beautiful. These were certainly not elegant, nor were they beautiful. They had long greasy, tangled hair and teeth as sharp as claws. They had wings rather like bats, torn and tattered, and black. Their eyes were small and fierce and their ears were pointed with chunks of flesh missing. 

     The hobbits huddled closer. The Pixies were laughing and snarling at them, showing their razor-sharp teeth. They were closing in on the hobbits. Rose suddenly leapt to her feet and made a run for it.

    "Rose!" Shouted Sam, but she didn't stop. She was going to get help. Being small, she managed to duck round the Pixies, who were twice her size, but unfortunately didn't escape their claws. By the time she managed to escape, her clothes were torn and she had a great gash on her right cheek. She could feel warm blood trickling down her face. By sheer luck, Rose noticed she'd run straight along the path. She could still hear the Pixies and could see their torches but she was too far away for them to see her. Rose sighed and turned to continue down the path, but just then, two soft hands caught her by the shoulders and pulled her away into the trees, away from the Pixie's torches. A voice spoke to her.

    "It is not safe here. You must come with us."

The voice was soft, but urgent. This was no Pixie. It was an Elf.

    "B-but my friends!" Said Rose, "They're still back there, we've got to help them!"

The Elf hesitated. Then called something in Elvish to one of his companions, who had been hiding in the trees. Luckily, Rose knew Elvish and understood what the Elf had said,

    "You stay here with the Halfling. I will go back to rescue the others."

    "You're going back _on your own?_" cried Rose.

The Elf was taken aback, "You knew what I said? I didn't know Hobbits could speak Elvish!"

    "They don't. I learnt it when I was a huma- err, when I was younger," said Rose.

    "Ahh," said the Elf, "Well, I must leave you here, you'll be safe with Glorfindel, and he will heal your wound."

Rose had forgotten about the gash on her cheek. Now the pain was coming back to her. She raised her hand to her cheek. It was wet with blood and stung when she touched it. The Elf said farewell ("Namaarie.") and hurried off silently towards the distant torches glowing in a circle around the hobbits.

    'I wish I'd stayed with them now,' thought Rose, 'I hope Sam's all right.'

Glorfindel lit a small torch so they could see. Or, at least, so Rose could see. Elves have exceptionally good eyesight in the dark.

    "Here, take this," he said, handing her some crushed up herbs, "it will stop the bleeding and ease the pain."

Rose took it gladly and immediately the pain subsided. She sat down on a nearby log to rest her feet. In the distance she could hear cries and shouts coming from the direction of the pixies. Suddenly the shouts and shrieks became fiercer and louder, as if something had angered them. Rose sat shivering on the log hoping that nothing had happened to her friends. A while later, the shouts became more and more faint, and she heard several footsteps running towards Glorfindel and her self.

     The hobbits and the Elf emerged into the firelight, but something didn't quite seem right. Someone was missing.


	5. Chapter 5: Missing

**The Lord of the Rings Lovers**

Chapter 4: Missing 

    "W-where's Sam?" Asked Rose, her face frozen.

Frodo spoke, "we don't know," he said, "one minute the pixies were closing in on us all and then Erelas came along-"

    "Erelas?" Interrupted Rose.

    "I am Erelas," said the Elf who was standing with the hobbits, "son of Thranduil."

    "Anyway," continued Frodo, "when Erelas arrived the pixies went mad and in all the confusion Sam…disappeared."

    'I bet they've taken him,' thought Rose, 'poor Sam. If only I'd stayed with him. How could I have been so stupid to run off like that!' Rose realised she had started to cry and wiped a tear from her cheek which had mingled with the blood from her wound. A sudden thought came back to her,

    "Erelas…" she muttered to her self, "Son of Thranduil…**Legolas' brother!**" This last bit she said aloud.

    "That is I," said Erelas, looking slightly bewildered. Rose blushed in embarressment and her thoughts turned, once again, back to Sam.

    "What do we do now?" She said.

    "I shall go and find this companion of yours," said Glorfindel, getting to his feet, "meanwhile, it is too dangerous for you to stay here. You must go with Erelas to the House of Mirkwood." They watched as Glorfindel set off into the deadly darkness in search of Sam.

    "We had better get going if we are to make the House of Mirkwood by dawn," said Erelas, packing up some things. Rose didn't want to leave. It was dark, and dangerous, but she just couldn't leave without Sam. In the end she set off with Erelas and the hobbits rather reluctantly and kept looking over her shoulder in the hope of seeing Glorfindel returning with Sam. It was a sombre journey, even Merry and Pippin were quiet and no one spoke for a long time.

     Meanwhile, in some other part of the forest, Sam stirred and opened his eyes. Everything was black. He struggled to his feet and brushed some leaves off his cloak. He felt around and found that he'd been lying next to a tree. Suddenly panic struck him. He was alone, lost, in the middle of a forest he didn't know, and it was pitch black. Where had everyone gone? One minute there were pixies surrounding them, and a lot of running and shouting and the next…this. Sam decided he must have hit his head on the tree in all the confusion and the pixies must have missed him lying there. But what was he to do now? He had no light and even if he did it was too dangerous to light a torch in case pixies were hiding in the trees and spotted him. He slumped down against the tree again.

    "A right pickle you've got yourself into Samwise," he said to him self. Then he hesitated.

    "No…Sean. I'm Sean, not Sam." His thoughts wondered back to the other hobbits and to Rose.

    "I wonder if I'll ever see them again. I wonder if I'll ever see anyone again for that matter!" He sighed and looked up, resting his head against the tree. He could just make out the stars through the branches of trees and wished, not for the first time, that he was in the open and could see every star in the sky and wished that he wasn't stuck in this endless forest surrounded by thick, dark and tall trees. His thoughts were interrupted by the crunching of leaves. Sam jumped to his feet, startled. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear someone, or something approaching.

     Sam backed up against the tree as far as he could and held his breath. The sound of crunching leaves grew louder and louder and then stopped a few feet away from where Sam was. The creature stooped and picked something up from the ground. There was deadly silence for a moment as if the creature was listening for something. Sam still didn't dare to breath. At length, the creature straightened up and called something in a language Sam had never heard before.

    "Lóméa! Emoc! Ki uq!"

More crunching of leaves told Sam the creature was not alone.

    "Tow si ti, Narchost?" Said the second creature. At this point Sam suddenly had the urge to sneeze.

    'No, I mustn't,' he thought desperately, 'not now! Not here!'

Sam fought desperately to keep in his sneeze but it was simply no good.

    "Tow saw that?!" cried one of the creatures, hearing Sam's sneeze. Sam, realising his danger, sidled as quickly and as silently as he could round the massive tree trunk, which was considerable quiet, even for a hobbit.

     Both creatures immediately drew out weapons and advanced towards the tree. Sam was starting to sweat. What if they found him? Or worse, what if they caught him, and killed him right there and then? He'd never see his friends again. He'd never see Rose again. He had to do something, and fast. He could sense the creatures almost at the tree now. In a moment of panic Sam leapt away from the tree and ran, as fast as his hobbit legs could carry him. The two creatures heard him running and started after him screeching. The moment Sam heard their screeches he knew what they were. They were pixies. Pixies could run a lot faster than hobbits and they were gaining on him by the second. Sam dodged this way and that through the trees and despite it being pitch black not once did he trip over a tree root or a fallen branch. His speed was increasing but it was not the strength of his legs that was driving him. It was fear, fear of being caught, fear of never seeing his friends and family again. To Sam's amazement he heard the cries of the pixies fade away and eventually dissapear, but he did not stop running. However, he did not see what was ahead of him and ran headlong into it.

     Sam cried aloud and tumbled backwards grasping desperately at the air. He fell to the ground with a thump.


	6. Chapter 6: Reunited

The Lord of the Rings Lovers

**Chapter 5: Reunited **

****

     The seven hobbits and Erelas finally arrived at the House of Mirkwood, just before dawn. They gasped. It was like Rivendell and Lothlórien combined and more. It was simply too beautiful to describe.

     Erelas led the hobbits down a flight of stone steps. At the bottom was a magnificent archway with stone leaves carved in and ivy draped and winding round the stone. Beyond the archway, Rose could make out two figures, sitting in great chairs of stone with, what seemed to be, velvet cushions. Erelas continued towards them and the hobbits followed. Once they reached the figures Rose recognised one of them. It was Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood. But who was the Elf next to him? She looked oddly familiar. Could it be Lou?

Then Erelas spoke, 'My brother…' he said, bowing to Legolas. Legolas then looked at the hobbits, and his face lit up. 

    "Merry! Pippin! Frodo-," but then his expression dropped, "Where's Sam?" he asked. The hobbits began to explain what had happened in the forest that night and how Sam disappeared.

    "I see…" said Legolas.

    "we were on our way here, to see you and…" Rose hesitated, "…Lou." The elf next to Legolas jumped and looked at Rose in surprise.

    "Err, could you leave us for a moment?" Said Legolas to Erelas.

    "Certainly," said Erelas, "I will go and keep a look out for Glorfindel. LasGalen," He added, bowing to the Elf, who was probably Lou. With that, he left them and went back along the path to wait at the top of the stone steps for Glorfindel. Legolas turned back to the hobbits, "How…?"

    "It's us," said Merry, "remember, Orli? We were all in the Limousine when it crashed." The two elves were speechless. Finally Lou, known here as LasGalen, spoke.

    "How did you know where to find us?" she said.

    "Well, we knew you'd be with Legolas," said Elenya, "I was with Merry, Dezzy was with Pippin, Clara with Frodo and Rose with…Sam." Elenya looked over at Rose, who was staring at the ground.

     Just then, Erelas came back, "Glorfindel has returned," he said. Rose looked up immediately.

    "Sam!" She cried, running over to the steps and running up them. She finally reached the top and saw Glorfindel approaching, carrying a grey bundle. Rose continued running until she reached him.

    "Did you find him?" She asked eagerly. The grey bundle groaned.

    "He just ran straight into me in the forest," said Glorfindel, smiling down at the excited hobbit, who was so overjoyed to see Sam again that she flung her arms round Glorfindel's knees.

    "Where am I?" groaned the grey bundle. Rose let go of Glorfindel's knees and stood on tiptoe to see Sam, who was wrapped in his grey cloak.

Glorfindel had reached the stone steps.

    "owww," moaned Sam, "my head!"

    "be careful!" said Rose, trotting along behind Glorfindel constantly trying to peer over his shoulder, and failing miserably. After all, she was only 3 ft tall.

    "Sam!" Cried the hobbits, when Glorfindel had reached them.

    "Where was he?" Asked Frodo, as Glorfindel put Sam down on his feet. Sam swayed and held onto Rose's arm for support.

    "He was in the forest," said the elf, "he ran straight into me and knocked him self out."

Sam blinked, while his vision came back into focus. The hobbits were now all crowded round him asking him how he was.

    "I'm fine!" Insisted Sam, "Really. Just a knock to the head."

All the same, the hobbits still kept fussing round him, asking over and over again if he needed anything.

     That night, just as it was beginning to get dark, they sat outside in the great garden of The House. It seemed more of a forest than a mere garden, as it was filled with the most magnificent Mallorn trees. They talked long about the next stage of their journey when they would find Aragorn and Amber (or so they hoped). It was decided they would leave the morning after tomorrow for Gondor. They would travel south and cross the Anduin, into Rohan. Instead of crossing the perilous White Mountains, they would proceed round them, through the Gap of Rohan and finally into Gondor. Rose sighed, as if she was bored. All this talk of travel was making her hungry. Just then, Sam took hold of Rose's arm and whispered something. Rose followed him, away from the others and out of sight. They sat down against a nearby tree.

    "What is it?" Asked Rose.

    "I just, I-," Sam stopped and looked at Rose, his green eyes showing bright in the moonlight. He leaned a little closer, cautiously, taking Rose's hand.

    "Sam?" She said, "What's wrong? What is it?"

    "Oh, nothing's wrong, everything's fine!" He said, looking down at the ground.

    "Then what-,"

Sam sighed and looked back up at her. "I don't know how to tell you…" his voice trailed off and Rose could see he was blushing.

    "Tell m-me what?" Asked Rose, but she could already tell what he was going to say. She could feel her face going red.

    "I-I want you to know-," Sam was stumbling over his words.

    "Y-yes?" Said Rose, looking expectant.

There was a long silence. Sam began to fidget with his cloak. At length he spoke again, "The thing is… I, I lo-"

    "Love you," Rose blurted out, turning, if possible, a deeper shade of red.

They both fell silent, and nothing could be heard save the rustling of the leaves on the branches above them. Suddenly Rose regretted what she'd just said. Not because she didn't mean it, she'd loved Sam since the very moment she laid eyes on him, but what if he didn't feel the same way about her? What if she'd just humiliated her self for nothing. But she noticed Sam was smiling. Although it was dark Rose could see a glint of a tear in his eye. Sam shuffled closer. With his hand, he swept Rose's golden hair out of her face and leaned in to kiss her. His soft lips brushed against hers. Rose wrapped her arms around his neck, never wanting to lose him again.

    "I'm so glad you're back," she whispered, burying her face into Sam's shoulder. Sam too his cloak and wrapped it round them, blocking out the cold night air. They stayed like this for what felt like hours.

    "The others will wonder where we are," said Rose sleepily, "we should go back soon," Although she wanted to stay like this forever.

    "Not yet," whispered Sam, holding her closer. Rose didn't argue with this and found her self drifting off into sleep still wrapped up in Sam's arms. 

Morning came and Rose opened her eyes to warm sunlight streaming through gaps in the leaves above them. Sam was still asleep. Rose stayed where she was, reluctant to leave the warmth of his arms around her. She lifted her head and kissed him softly on the lips. Sam blinked blearily and smiled at her. Then he noticed it was morning, "How long have we been here?" He said, "Did the others come looking for us?"

    "I don't know," said Rose, "we must have fallen asleep." There was a sound coming from far off that sounded like footsteps. Hey looked at each-other, then unravelled them selves from Sam's cloak and tried to look as if nothing had happened. They stood up as the footsteps drew nearer. They could hear voices now. It was Clara and Frodo.

    "Don't say anything," Rose whispered, dragging him behind a tree out of sight, "I have a plan."

As Clara and Frodo were nearly at the tree Rose walked casually out from behind it mumbling "C'mon," to Sam, who then followed her.

    "Rose! Sam! Where have you _been?_" Asked Clara, startled to see them.

    "Oh, you know, we just- just went for a walk."

    "Yeah!" Agreed Sam.

    "But you've been gone _all_ night!"

Rose hesitated. She hadn't thought this far yet, but Sam came to the rescue,

    "We lost track of time," he said. When Clara and Frodo weren't looking he winked at Rose.

    "Well," said Frodo, "you'd better hurry back. You've already missed breakfast, but Pippin persuaded everyone to have second breakfast."

Rose hadn't realised until now just how hungry she was. They followed Clara and Frodo back to The House. Subtly glancing at each other when they got the chance.

When they reached The House, breakfast had already started (again). They watched as Pippin shoved a mini roll into his mouth. The cream dribbled onto the table in front of him.

    "Pippin!" They heard Merry tell him off. Rose spotted the huge plate of mini rolls and tried to hold back a giggle.

    "What is it?" Asked Sam, seeing her expression.

    "Oh n-nothing!" She said innocently. She turned to see Clara attempting to suppress a laugh. She had obviously seen them too.

     Later on, when everyone was filled and no longer hungry they all retired to the garden and sat by the fountain and talked of the journey ahead of them.

    "I hope it doesn't take as long as the journey here," remarked Pippin. They were keen to find Aragorn and Amber and hoped their road would be clear and quite uneventful, unlike the journey to Mirkwood and their ordeal with the pixies. But there was certainly no rush to get home again; and indeed none of them had even _thought_ about home yet.

    "What if…" Rose wondered aloud, "what _if_ we didn't have to go home at all? What if we could just stay here and never had to go home?" She was perched on the stone edge of the fountain, absentmindedly dangling her fingertips into the cool and sparkling water.

Everyone privately agreed. It would be a dream come true to live in Middle Earth; To walk among the forests and quaint little villages in The Shire every day without a single care in the world; and not have to put up with the crowded and polluted cities of the real world. But-

    "What would happen to us, though?" Asked Diamond, "back on Earth, I mean. What would happen to our bodies? Would we just… disappear? Or die? Or…?"

    "I don't know," said Rose. She sighed, "Oh, I wish this was so much simpler. Why does everything have to be so complicated?" 

There was a pause; then Frodo spoke,

    "Well, whatever we decide to do, we'd best find Aragorn and Amber first and see what they think."

     The rest of the day was spent lazing in the garden in the warm sunshine or, in the hobbits' cases, _eating_ and lazing in the garden. The following morning the hobbits, Legolas and LasGalen woke early, ready to begin the next stage of their journey. They breakfasted, said their farewells to Erelas and other elves they had been introduced to during their stay, and set off on their way, refreshed and their packs full of food, water and clean clothes.

By sunset they hoped to have reached the river Anduin and, with any luck, crossed it. They walked for hours in the baking heat of the sun, for they were no longer in the shade of the forest and open land surrounded them as far as the eye could see. As luck would have it, they managed to reach Anduin an hour before sunset. They approached the raging river cautiously. There was an old wooden bridge leading across to the other side, which didn't look entirely safe. The ropes holding it up were badly frayed and many of the wooden planks had begun to rot, due to age and moisture from the river below.

    "So…" said LasGalen, "who's going first?"

Rose volunteered first, without the faintest idea why she did so. She took a deep breath, gripped the sides of the bridge and took a step forward. The wooden boards creaked loudly and suspiciously beneath her feet. Rose closed her eyes tightly, not daring to look down, and worked her way, slowly, to the other side. The bridge making dangerous creaks with every step she took. But none of the boards gave way and Rose made it safely to the other side. She turned to see LasGalen, followed by Legolas, their steps hardly disturbing the bridge at all. Next came Sam, who looked down half way across and stopped, clinging onto the ropes of the bridge refusing to go any further. In the end Legolas had to go back and carry him the rest of the way over the bridge. Then it was Clara's turn, Frodo, Diamond and Pippin. As Merry was crossing, a slight breeze blew up, making the bridge sway dangerously. Just as he was about to reach the other side of the bridge there was a sickening _snap_ and the ropes at the other end broke. The bridge splashed into the raging river below, smashing the wood to splinters. Merry was sucked underneath the water and nothing more could be seen of him.

    "Merry!" They heard Elenya screaming from the far riverbank. She was alone on the opposite side of the river with no means to get across now that the bridge was gone and on top of that it was probably a million-to-one chance they would ever see Merry again.


	7. Chapter 7: Left Behind

The Lord of the Rings Lovers

**Chapter 6: Left Behind**

****

    "Elenya!" 

Elenya was now kneeling on the grass crying into her hands.

    "How is she going to get across?" Said Pippin, voicing the concern of everyone.

    "Hang on," said Legolas, "I have an idea. Sam? Do you have any rope?" Sam took off his backpack and rummaged around in it. At length he pulled out a long piece of grey elven rope he'd packed all those weeks ago back in the Shire. He handed it to Legolas who reached behind his shoulder and produced a slim elven arrow with smooth green feathers. He tied one end of the rope to the arrow with a secure knot.

    "Make sure you keep hold of the rope," he told Sam, retrieving his bow from the ground and fitting the arrow. Elenya had stopped crying and was now watching Legolas curiously, She had dry tear stains down her cheeks. Legolas called over to her,

    "Stand clear!" He loosed the arrow. It was a green and grey blur as it shot clear over the river and sunk deep into the earth near Elenya. Legolas gave the rope an experimental tug. It didn't budge.

    "Climb across!"

Elenya looked taken aback, "Over- over _there_?!" She exclaimed, pointing to the swift swirling foam topping the raging water of Anduin.

    "It's the only way! Just grab onto the rope and edge across."

    "Easy for you to say," mumbled Elenya as she positioned her self to climb across. She got hold of the rope with her hands and brought her feet up around it so she was hanging over the river, rather like a koala would hang off a branch. Elenya nervously started to pull her self along the rope.

     "Don't look down!" Shouted Pippin. Subconsciously Elenya looked down. Her face froze and she tightened her grip on the rope fearing she might fall and succumb to the same disastrous end Merry had done just moments before.

    "Now look what you've done," Muttered Frodo in Pippin's ear.

    "Me? All I said was-"

    "_Exactly!_"

    "Elenya! Keep looking this way, there's not that far to go!" Called Legolas. Elenya gulped and looked up along the seemingly endless rope. She decided to close her eyes and continued along the rope. Before she knew it her toes found the grass of the riverbank and she opened her eyes. Sam finally relaxed his grip on the rope as Elenya climbed to safety.

    "Now pull the rope back," Legolas told Sam.

    "But it's tied to the arrow. I'll never be able to get it back." But Sam found, as he pulled the rope once more, that it came free and the arrow with it. Once it was across he handed the arrow back to Legolas and packed the rope in his backpack once again. They set about preparing to leave, but Elenya stopped.

    "We can't just go," she said, tears welling up in her eyes again, "what about Merry?"

    "He's beyond our aid now," said Legolas, solemnly looking at the ground, "we have to leave him and hope that wherever he is headed, he gets there safely."

As they set off, all were solemn. What if Merry didn't make it? They all thought. Worse still, what if he was dead? The thought passed through their minds over and over as they walked in silence over great grassy land. They could see the forest of Fangorn and the Misty Mountains in the distance to the right of them, but nothing more, save a handful of trees, could be seen for miles around. They kept walking, still too sorrowful to talk. After several more miles the sky was beginning to darken, but they did not stop and through the night the hobbits struggled to keep pace with Legolas and LasGalen and they were beginning to tire. At long last they reached a shallow stream, The Entwash. They decided to stop there for the night and cross the stream in the morning. Morning came three hours later, but nevertheless they were glad of the rest. The stream was shallow enough to paddle across so they were able to cross it in no time. In the distance they could make out the snowy peaks of the White Mountains and before them lay Edoras, their next destination, for they would not make it to Gondor without some proper rest and a stock up of provisions first.

     Many more miles of walking and, in Pippin's case, complaining about food, brought them at last to Edoras. They stopped and gazed at the spectacle in front of them. There was a large hill of grassy earth set before the snow-covered peaks of the White Mountains. Upon the hill were many stone buildings, magnificent in size and a set of huge stone steps led the way down to where they were standing. The hobbits clambered up the mighty steps with difficulty, whilst the elves sprang lightly from step to step and reached the top long before the hobbits did. When at last they were all gathered at the top, they made for the largest building on the western side of the hill. Great flags flew high either side of the entrance to the building each bearing the white horse of Rohan. The building itself resembled a great hall. Pillars of stone framed the doorway, which must have been at least twenty-five feet high and could easily have fitted fifteen full-grown men abreast. There were also steps leading down from the doorway to the flat of the hill. These, to the hobbits' relief, were not so mighty as the ones before, nor were there so many of them to climb.

At the top, several guards greeted them. The chief guard stepped forward.

    "Welcome," he said with a slight bow of his head, "the Lord and Lady saw you coming and asked us to greet you here."

The hobbits and elves bowed their heads in turn and introduced them selves.

    "I am Halbarad," said the guard, "Son of Hirluin the Fair and servant to the Lord and Lady. But let us not stand about here for an age, come inside, they are waiting."

They followed Halbarad inside the great hall with its high walls. The other guards remained outside and guarded the entrance. Halbarad led them along to a pair of Oak doors, which he proceeded to pull open. The doors revealed a smaller hall, yet more magnificent to look at. In the middle was a long table set out with the most delicious foods the hobbits had ever seen. And sat at the head of the table were the Lord Faramir and the Lady Éowyn. They greeted they guests and gestured for them to be seated. The hobbits eagerly seated them selves on either side of the table, staring wide-eyed at the food set out before them. Legolas and LasGalen joined them and sat beside the hobbits.

    "So," said Faramir, "what brings you so far to Edoras?" 

They all hesitated. They couldn't very well tell the truth, nobody would believe them. At length LasGalen spoke.

    "We are on our way to visit the King Elassar and cannot make it all the way to Gondor without a rest and restock of our provisions," she said. This, of course, was true enough and seemed to satisfy Faramir.

    "Very well," he said, smiling, "you shall stay here as long as you wish. Do help yourself to the food," he added, seeing the hobbits' eager faces. They tucked in immediately, their hunger overcoming basic manners.

Later on, when their hunger was satisfied, they were shown to their beds. They fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

They did not stay long in Edoras, for hey urgently needed to find Aragorn and Amber, and so they prepared to leave the very next day.

    "I would have hoped you'd stay longer," said Faramir, as they refilled their provisions and got ready to leave, "but you obviously have urgent business with the king, so we will not keep you."

    "Maybe we shall visit again," said rose, "when things are not so urgent."

    "Perhaps."

    "Farewell!" Called Éowyn, waving to them as they walked (and stumbled) down the great steps that led to flat land below the hill. From there they headed West keeping to the North side of the White Mountains, and made for the gap of Rohan.

For tee days they travelled without much rest or food and on the fourth day they could hardly keep on their feet and were about to give up hope when up ahead of them, rising up from the landscape as they approached, was the great city of Belfalas. They struggled on until they reached the city gates. There were no guards here and the gates were open, so they proceeded through into the city. If they thought they would find rest immediately they were mistaken. They walked for at least another half mile before the palace of Belfalas came into view. It was a giant of a building and almost twice the size of the house in Edoras. A flag, bearing the emblem of Gondor, was flying high and seemed to glow in the sunlight. They approached the gate, but as the guard caught sight of them he unlocked it immediately and let them straight through without question.

    "That was strange," muttered Rose, "Why didn't he ask who we were?"

    "Maybe he recognised us?" Said Sam.

    "Hmm…"

They were now walking through a large stone corridor that echoed with every step they took. Further ahead, they heard distant voices, getting louder and louder until two figures appeared round the corner and stopped when they saw the visitors.

    "Sam stepped forward, "Is that you… Viggo?" He said. Aragorn seemed to study Sam for a moment, then a grin appeared on his face and he laughed.

    "I thought I'd never find you all!" He said, looking relieved.

Rose looked up at the tall elf maiden stood beside Aragorn.

    "_Amber?_" She said, a look of amazement on her face.

The elf smiled, "that's me!" She said.

    "You're- you're _Arwen!_" Arwen smiled even more.

    "Come and have some food. We were just on our way to have dinner," said Aragorn. They followed him to the dining hall and seated them selves around a large table laid with huge plates of food and bottles of wine. Legolas and LasGalen started on the wine, while the hobbits tucked into the food hungrily, their first full meal in four days. When the plates were cleared and the bottles empty they started to tell Aragorn and Arwen of their journey so far; of their escape from the pixies, and of losing Merry over the Anduin. Just as they were finishing their tale there was a knocking at the door.

    "Enter," called Aragorn. The door opened and a tall guard stepped inside.

    "A visitor to see you," he said, gesturing through the door. A small figure entered and they recognised him immediately.

    "Merry!" Elenya leapt out of her chair and ran to him. The others followed and almost crushed poor Merry in a hug.

    "How did you get here?" They asked, finally releasing him and allowing him to breath.

    "It's a long story," said Merry, "you'd better all sit down."

Once again they seated them selves around the table and waited. And so with everyone waiting and listening Merry began his tale.

****

     ****


	8. Chapter 8: The Account of Merry

The Lord of the Rings Lovers

**Chapter 7: The Account of Merry**

****

     Merry found him self being sucked under water. He struggled against the current, trying to break the surface for air, but the current was too strong and dragged him deeper. His cloak had now tangled around his arms so he could hardly move. With what strength he had left in his legs he tried to kick his way to the surface but he was running out of air rapidly and the feeling in his arms and legs was going. Soon he had lost complete feeling throughout his entire body and the rushing of water in his ears was beginning to fade. It kept on fading until he could hear nothing. All he could see was the darkness of his own mind, willing him to stay alive. He could see a faint light in the distance now, which was slowly gaining brightness. Merry had a sudden urge to keep the star in sight because if it went away something terrible would happen. He struggled to bring the light closer to him but it kept drifting steadily away. He tried again but the star was not obeying him. This battle went on for what seemed like forever, Merry struggling to pull the light towards him, desperate not to let it go, and the light doing just the opposite of what he wanted. At length the star began to fade; it was losing the battle. Merry fought ever more to pull it towards him and this time it was working. Slowly but surely the star drifted reluctantly towards Merry and at last he was able to hold it with his mind. He held it tighter and tighter until all the light from it had faded and was gone. 

     Merry felt cold stones beneath his face and hands. He raised his head and looked at the ground. There were pebbles surrounding him and water sloshing gently over them. He tried to stand but his limbs were too weak. He lay still, feeling the cold water on his toes and hands, cooling and refreshing. For ages it seemed he lay there, not wanting to move. Suddenly he heard several footsteps; they were coming from up ahead but Merry didn't dare look up and remained still on the pebbles, his head down. The footsteps became louder and louder until they were right in front of him. 

    "Quick!" He heard someone shout, then more footsteps. The person was now talking to Merry, trying to rouse him. Merry responded and raised his head, dazed. He tries to speak but could only splutter and cough. The man whom had spoken to him picked him up and went to set him upon a horse, wrapping a cloak around him.

     Merry could now see where he was. He had been washed up onto the shore of Amon Hen. Then he looked at the warriors surrounding him. They were men of the Rohirrim, but how had they known where he was?

    "We are taking you to Edoras. The Lady and Lord wish to see you master Meriadoc. They have important news."

Merry spluttered again, and then choked, clearing his throat.

    "How-? How do you know who I am?" He gasped, "and how did you know I was here?"

    "All will be explained later, for now you must rest and keep warm." The rider gave him another cloak.

    "But who are you?" Asked Merry.

    "I am Thrár, a rider of Rohan." He said. Thrár mounted up on his horse behind Merry. He shouted a command to his men and off they rode, away from Amon Hen.

     Merry slept most of the journey to Edoras and was still weary when the Rohirrim reached their destination. He now felt strong enough to walk and he climbed off the great horse with difficulty, but he managed it. Thrár escorted Merry up the steps and there, waiting for him at the great doors, were Lord faramir and Lady Éowyn. Thr bowed low and descended the steps. Merry followed suite but stayed where he was. 

    "Merry," Faramir smiled, "come inside, eat with us. We have some news." Merry followed them inside. During dinner Faramir and Éowyn told him of their visit from the hobbits, Legolas and Las-Galen and how they sent the Rohan riders to search for any sign of him.

    "Where are they now?" Asked Merry, eager to be reunited with his companions.

    "They went forth to Gondor. We understand they will be staying there a while."

Merry jumped out of his seat, rather too quickly and his head swam. He sat back down again.

    "I need to get to them, before they leave Gondor or I shall probably never see them again."

Éowyn laughed, " Do not be so troubled. We shall take you there with our fast horses and men to escort you; you will be there within four days at the most. There is no need to rush, with your companions on foot you should get there, by any luck, on the same day!" Merry relaxed and leaned back.

    "You need rest I can see," said Faramir.

    "I slept all the way here," protested Merry, not wanting to leave his food.

    "But on a horse, not a proper bed. You shall stay here tonight and the next until you are better."

    "What about my friends?"

    "As I said you needn't rush," said Éowyn, "Your friends only set out yesterday and we shall take a shorter road, through Minas Tirith."

Merry accepted this and left his food. Faramir showed him to his room to rest. Merry had to use a chair to climb into his bed because it was so big and not made for hobbits. After a long rest Merry woke, refreshed and cleared of most of his weariness. His first thought was to set off for Gondor immediately, but he found when he got out of bed, that he was still weak and somewhat drained after his ordeal in the Anduin.

     Merry spent two more nights there recovering and on the third morning he planned to leave. He was to be escorted with the Riders of Rohan first to Minas Tirith, past the White Mountains, and then on to Gondor to hopefully be reunited with his friends. He rose early and got dressed, now completely recovered. Outside the Riders and several horses were ready. Merry was helped onto one of the smaller white horses, who would ride up front with Thrár, the leader of the Riders and the one who had rescued him from the shore of Amon Hen.

Lord Faramir and Lady Éowyn bade him farewell and he set out with the Riders to Minas Tirith. The horses were speedier than Merry had expected and the journey to Minas Tirith was short. They stopped there for one night and set out the next day to Gondor. The Rider collected on top of a large hill of grass and looked out over the plain.

    "That is where we are heading," said Thrár to Merry, "It is perhaps twelve legues from here as far as I can make out." Merry looked to where Thrár was pointing and saw the bright city of Gondor shining like a star in the night sky.

    "It will take us just under a day on horseback," said Thrár, "I expect your friends may be arriving there today or perhaps they already have."

They set off again, the horses going at a steady pace. After a long day of travelling they reached Gondor. They stopped at the city gate and Merry dismounted his horse.

    "This is where we must leave you," said Thrár.

    "Already?" Said Merry, "I thought you were staying."

    "We have other business. So here we must say farewell." And with that Thrár turned his horse, followed by his Riders and Merry';s horse and rode off. Merry watched them until they were out of sight. He then turned to face the gate. It had been opened by two guards.

He looked ahead into the great city and walked through the gate. 

    "And that's how I got here," Merry finished.

    "Well you have had quite an adventure," remarked Aragorn, "and you were lucky to have survived the Anduin, there are few who have succeeded."

Merry smiled. They were all back together again and hopefully it would stay that way. Now the next step was finding how they were going to get home.

****


	9. Chapter 9: The Last Stage

The Lord of the Rings Lovers

**Chapter 8: The Last Stage **

****

     They stayed in Gondor for many days, deciding what to do next.

    "We should go to Lothlórien," said Aragorn, one night when they were discussing it, "maybe Lady Galadriel would know how to get us home."

    "But do we really want to go home just yet?" Said Elenya, voicing the opinions of all. Everyone fell silent, thinking. None of them really wanted to go home, back into normal life without all this fantasy. Not just yet anyway. At length Rose spoke,

    "What if we went to Lothlórien and found out how to get home but stayed there a while, until we decide anything for definite."

Everyone agreed this was the best idea so far; so three days later they left Gondor each on their own horse (and, in the hobbits' cases, two to a horse).

     They travelled many days, round the White Mountains once again, into Rohan and North to Lothlórien. Luckily this time they did not have to cross the Anduin. They had just ridden past the woods of Fangorn and were approaching Lórien. Aragorn was leading the way; He stopped.

    "We shall have to leave the horses here and continue on foot." They all climbed down off their horses.

    "What will they do?" Asked Pippin, "they can't just stand around here."

    "We will send them back," replied Aragorn, "they know the way home." And at that he turned his horse and nudged it to go forward. It started to walk back the way they had come and the others soon followed. They watched the horses until they were out of sight and then turned back to Lórien.

    "Well," said Aragorn, "here we are." This was where their journey would end if there were a way for them to get home.

     They went forth into the woods. As they passed under the shade of the tall Mallorn trees there was an immediate sense of peace of tranquillity. They hardly dared to make a noise. Just then there was the sound of something tearing, a thud followed by a muffled 'ow' from the ground. They all turned to see Pippin face down in the leaves. He looked up guiltily.

    "Pippin!" Said Merry.

    "What? I only tripped over my cloak," Pippin said, looking at his torn cloak, "could have happened to anyone," he mumbled and scrambled to his feet.

Hey carried on walking in silence and taking in their surroundings. Their peace was once again interrupted by the sudden appearance of an elf. He was tall with golden hair and he held a bow and arrow raised towards them; But the bow lowered and the elf's face seemed to soften.

    "Friends of my people!" He said, seeming to recognise them, "It has been long since your last visit. Pray, tell of your business here."

Legolas appeared to have recognised the elf and spoke, "Haldir," he bowed, "we are here to see the Lady Galadriel."

    "Come then," said Haldir, "I shall take you to her."

He led them through the woods and at length they came to a small stream; they crossed it with ease as it was shallow enough even for the hobbits to cross. They continued for several minutes until at last they came to a great tree, at least 3 yards across. An extravagantly crafted stairway wound around the trunk, elegantly from the bottom all the way to where the highest branches spread out. Haldir led them up the stairway. As they climbed higher, more and more lights danced around the tree, flickering like stars around them.

Finally, they reached the top where the branches separated and there stood a great platform with its own miniature mallorn trees growing all around the edge. The Lady Galadriel was seated at the far end. She looked up and smiled, seeing them.

    "Vedui," she said, welcoming her guests. Haldir bade them farewell and descended the steps leaving only them and Galadriel. There was a long silence in which she studied them one by one.

    "I know why you are," she said at last, "you are seeking a way home, and have come to me for help. You have chosen wisely," she added. Her eyes glittered.

    "There really is a way then?" Asked Rose, amazed.

    "Of course," replied Galadriel. The others looked at her expectantly.

    "Let me show you something," she said, standing and walking over to them. She produced a book, covered in ancient runes of some kind. She opened it.

    "This," she said, scanning the pages, "is a book written by the elves many ages ago." She handed it to Rose open on a page with a picture of what looked remarkable like earth. The others peered over her shoulder, reading the page.

    "It allows you to travel to different worlds?" 

Galadriel nodded.

    "I believe this," she said, pointing to the earth picture, "is your home?"

    "It is," breathed Rose, hardly able to believe it.

    "So what do we need to do?" Asked Sam.

    "It is all on those two pages," said Galadriel, "all you need to do is perform that spell."

    "Well, I for one, am not really ready to go just yet," said Clara, later that evening when they were having a private council, "I think we should, as Rose said before, stay here until we're ready. I don't want to leave yet." She glanced at Frodo, smiling at her.

    "So it is then," said Legolas, "until we are all ready."

So it was. They stayed in Lothlórien for several days, the hobbits spending as much time on the ground or lower platforms, having a dislike for heights; While Legolas, LasGalen, Aragorn and Arwen spent much timw on the higher platforms among the great mallorn branches.

     One night, a night that was to be their last, they could sense. They had a great feast with the Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. Nearing the end of the feast, the guests had an announcement to make.

    "We are ready," was what they simply said.

That night, after the feast, everyone was subdued and all went to their separate places to think and be alone. The following morning they rose early, unable to get much sleep. They found Galadriel already awake. With heavy hearts they bade farewell to her, and she to them.

They then found a quiet place to perform the spell. So this was it, the end of their adventure. They took a moment to say their goodbyes. 

Rose turned to Sam, her eyes already filled with tears. They said nothing but embraced, not wanting to leave eachother.

Clara and Frodo said their farewells, then Elenya and Merry; Diamond and Pippin; Legolas and LasGalen; Aragorn and Arwen. By the end all of them had tears streaming down their cheeks.

    "So, the spell," said Rose, holding back more tears and holding the open book in her hands. "We must all join hands and group in a circle."

They did just that. Rose had to lay the book on a stone stand in front of her before linking hands with Sam and Clara. She cleared her throat.

    "Ok…" she stared at the spell, written in elvish, memorizing it. Then she shut her eyes; the others followed suit.

Rose began the spell, "Vara tel' Seldarine. Ama poldora. Russe tuulo'moriloomir. Faina templa," she paused, took a deep breath and finished the spell, "Quella tuulo'elea…"

Silence. Then a shock of energy pulsed through the circle. In the middle of them a small ball of lightening was crackling into life. It began to grow bigger and bigger and finally engulfed the circle. Their grips tightened on eachothers hands and they kept their eyes tightly shut. 

There was a sudden burst of green light and they were gone. All that remained was the book set open upon the stone. 


	10. Chapter 10: Dreams

The Lord of the Rings Lovers Chapter 9: Dreams 

     Rose came to and opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was blurred so she had no idea where she was. Feeling started to return into her arms and legs and she became aware of something soft underneath her. 

    'Perhaps I'm dead,' she thought, 'and I'm on a cloud or something absurd like that.' But then she realised her head was beginning to hurt viciously and the thought of being dead soon disappeared. Some time passed and there Rose lay, in the dark, trying to recall what had happened and trying to figure out where she was. Her vision was more or less back to normal, although it hurt her head to look around, so she remained staring at the white ceiling above her. She stared at the shadows dancing across it.

     After a while she had recovered enough strength to haul her self up against some propped up pillows, for she had figured out that it was a bed she was in and she in hospital. Rose glanced sideways and caught her breath. In the bed next to her lying peacefully in a deep sleep was Orlando Bloom.

    "Ed' I' ear ar' elanea!" She muttered to her self, rather louder than she meant to. It hardly made any difference, as nobody ever understood her anyway, when she spoke elvish and nobody was around. 

     Out of nowhere a loud beeping started up. Rose couldn't figure out where it was coming from but then she realised it was from the machine beside Orli's bed. She tried to get out of her own bed to see what was wrong but found she couldn't move. She tried to shout for help but no sound would come to her lips. Then five people in white coats came rushing into the room; but too late. The machine, presumably measuring Orli's heart rate had merged into one single, continuous noise. The five 'white coats' were crowded round him, trying to revive him, but nothing was happening. After several long minutes they declared him to be dead. Rose struggled with all her strength to move or make a noise but it was as if she were glued to the bed. The white coats wheeled Orli's bed away, draping a white sheet over his lifeless body. One white coat stayed behind and approached Rose's bed. She struggled even more but was getting nowhere. To her horror the white coat produced a gas mask and placed it firmly over her nose and mouth. She tried not to breath anything in but it was no good and under the influence of the sleeping gas she slid helplessly into darkness.

     Rose awoke with a start. She was now lying on a floor somewhere, and she felt rather odd. Sort of empty, and her mind was surprisingly clear. She got up easily and found she no longer felt sick, or weary, or drowsy and all her aches and pains had gone. She studied her surroundings but everything seemed dull, almost colourless. She was back in the Limousine.

    'Phew,' she thought 'all that hospital stuff was just a dream.'

Rose looked down to see if the others were still there, they were. All laid on the floor with cuts and bruises from the crash. Then, something beneath her caught her eye and she looked down. Lying lifeless at her feet was her own body. Rose stood, staring, could she really be dead? A ghost?

     She sat down on the Limousine seat, or rather hovered above it, and took in the scene around her. Tears escaped from her ghostly eyes and dropped into thin air. She was dead. What about the others? Could they be dead too? Or had they survived the crash, unlike the driver, Rose noted, judging by the crunching sound as the Limousine had smashed into the wall. It would be a miracle if he survived. Rose caught a movement on the floor. It had come from Sean's body; but it wasn't him moving. A misty figure emerged from his body and he spotted Rose. She was staring open-mouthed. The ghostly figure looked from her to the floor and gasped, seeing his own body. He looked back to Rose and went to sit down next to her.

    "We're… dead?" He said, staring at his dead body sprawled across the limousine floor, lifeless.

    "Yeah…" They sat, or rather floated, in silence.

    "We've lost everyone," said Rose at length.

    "Well, almost…" said Sean, hesitantly taking her hand. She looked at him and smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder; but she suddenly gasped and sat up again staring at the floor.

    "What is it?"

    "Look…" said Rose, pointing to the other bodies on the floor. Several ghostly figures were emerging from their deceased bodies. Realising they were dead had much the same reaction from them all. Once every spirit had left its physical form behind, they all stood facing one another. They were once again all reunited; but now they were dead.

    "I've always wondered what happens to you after you die," said Billy.

Then a strange noise made them turn. The back of the limousine was opening up, flooding it with a piercing light. They watched in fascination as the light dimmed until it was no more than mere daylight. They stepped out of the limousine, not onto a concrete street, but onto luch green grass. They stared around at the world of colour they had stepped into. The limousine had gone. So this was what heaven was like. They recognised the place. It was their heaven…

     And so the ghosts of Rose and Sean; Clara and Lijah; Dezzy and Billy; Kym and Dom; Lou and Orli; and Amber and Viggo walked off into this wonderland; their heaven; Middle Earth.


End file.
